by JP Sayle
“You fuckin’ changed things that didn’t need changin’. Your Granddaddy and Swifty proved their leadership, proved we were a club no fucker messed with. What did you do? You made us look weak by bringin’ your sister’s bastard child into the club. She’d have been better off buried in a box with your no-good sister,’” Ned ranted, his face a hateful mask of spite as spit ran down his chin.
White hot rage at him disrespecting my sister and the one amazing thing Lizzie had left me, River, tore at my sanity. There was no finesse as I charged at both men, fists flying. I didn’t feel anything other than the burning fury that flowed like boiling hot lava out of a volcano as it crushed everything in its path until all that was left were decimated remains.
Chapter Thirty
Mason
The lack of sirens and flashing lights didn’t ease the gut-wrenching fear from all the scenarios I’d gone through by the time I’d reached the address I’d been given. There were motorcycles everywhere I looked as I pulled up and abandoned my car as close to the cabin as I could.
I’d come to recognize some of the motorcycles from my visits to the club, but there were at least twenty I’d not seen before.
My hands trembled at my sides. Was this a set up? Was I about to get my ass kicked?
Fuck knows, just get inside and see what’s what.
I was halfway up the stairs leading to the door when it opened to reveal Sid. My stomach twisted into painful knots at the bruised and battered face looking at me with worried eyes. His T-shirt was torn and covered in blood. His jeans weren’t in any better shape.
“What happened? Please tell me Linc’s okay.” My voice cracked, and I had to stop before the tears burning the back of my eyes made good on the threat to slide down my cheeks.
Sid looked over my shoulder before answering. “He’s not great. I can’t seem to get through to him. He’s never been like this before, not since…anyway, you were a last resort. It’s why I messaged you.”
What he said made little sense, but I didn’t argue as he stepped aside and beckoned me in. My heart sank at the sight of carnage. There were men and women scattered around the room, not looking much better than Sid. There was broken furniture, blood splattered over many of the surfaces and some of the walls, leaving me wondering if there’d been a death.
My blood ran cold when I caught sight of a bloodied and battered man lying unmoving on the floor in the middle of the room. The face was unrecognizable, but the T-shirt he wore identified him as Ned. My heart thundered against my ribs as I narrowed my eyes on him. Was his chest moving? Please god, don’t let him be dead. Something told me that whatever had happened to Ned, it was at Linc’s hands.
Air hissed past my teeth when one of his hands moved. Thank fuck!
Why weren’t they helping him? My gaze swept the quiet room. Some of the faces I’d come to know looked belligerent and gave off warnings I’d be ill advised not to heed. Whatever had gone down, no one was going to talk to me about it and, judging by their body language, they didn’t want me there.
I swore under my breath. Why had Sid messaged me? Linc needs you.
I searched the room for the man in question. He was standing at the back of the room, staring out a large window. The unusual stiffness of his posture screamed ‘keep the fuck away.’
Leading with my heart, I shoved aside the worries my head wanted to focus on and crossed the room, though my legs wanted to rebel. I clenched my teeth together to keep the complaint to myself, not wanting to show any sign of weakness. Skirting Ned, I chose not to look down at him.
The hands balled into fists at Linc’s sides, were swollen and discolored, doing little to help my rising panic. Then one of Linc’s men grabbed hold of my arm, halting my progress across the room.
“Get the fuck off me,” I ground out, shoving the man away, needing to get to Linc. There seemed to be a pause as everyone stared at me warily with one exception, Linc. He showed no sign that he was aware of my presence, I glanced at Sid.
He shrugged before his head nodded at me, as if encouraging me to do something.
“Linc, look at me.” I demanded in a firmer tone. Still nothing, he didn’t move. It was like he’d become a stone statue. With my pulse playing, let’s see how many times it can leap in a minute, I closed the gap and moved to stand in front of him.
I winced at the dark stains covering his T-shirt. The smell of copper and sweat turned my stomach. But it was the vacant look in his eyes that left me struggling to breathe, so I gently touched his arm, hoping to get him to focus on me.
If it was possible, he became even stiffer. Long seconds passed, as I stroked my hands up his arms and made soothing noises. I kept my full attention on Linc, even as I felt every pair of eyes in the room on us. “Linc, sweetheart, you need to look at me. Come on, I need you to hear me,” I whispered, until he blinked several times as if clearing his vision.
My breath whistled through my teeth when the blank expression was exchanged for despair that seemed engraved into the depths of his soul. It showed wounds that went far deeper than I could grasp the true meaning of. They slashed at my heart. The love I felt for him rose in a tidal wave and took charge of my actions. I cupped his cheeks and laid a gentle kiss on his lips. “Whatever happened, I’m here for you.” I put as much conviction as I could into the words, even when a part of me worried it might not be enough.
His chest heaved and a shudder wracked his body. Emotions moved too fast for me to read them as they played over his face. I held my breath as the seconds ticked by and he remained silent.
Then his face became an indecipherable mask and he took a step back, so my hands fell away from him. They dropped to my sides and breathtaking pain filled my chest, but I remained still. I wanted to beg him to let me in, to tell me what he needed, but the wall that seemed to materialize between us kept me silent.
I watched him warily, to see what he’d do next, when he turned around. I moved so I could see his face, then wished I hadn’t when his expression filled with hatred as he asked, “Is he dead?”
A shiver raced down my spine in the warm room and chilled me to the bone.
Sid didn’t move or seek to clarify who ‘he’ was, instead, he shook his head. “He’s pretty broken, and most likely never gonna be the same again. Dog has arranged for another wagon to pick him up and drop him at the hospital.” There was no remorse as he spoke, and it struck me that this was the world that Linc was a part of. A world where those who betrayed the club would have to suffer the full force of club retribution.
My greatest fears were laid bare. Could I put aside this reality for love? There was no easy answer as I stared at Linc’s unrepentant face. Was there anything that could justify this kind of violence? I wasn’t sure, but with more questions than answers, I struggled to see how Ned deserved to be beaten beyond recognition.
As I tried to process it all, it took a moment to register Sid had said “another wagon.” Who had gone in the first one and were they worse than Ned? Fuck. What the hell had happened here?
I again looked about the room, only then realizing that Doddie, Stevie, and Riley were missing, as were a few other men I’d interviewed in the clubhouse.
While my whole body thrummed with nervous energy, the room started to clear as if by silent agreement. Only once everyone but Linc, Sid, two men I didn’t know, and Ned were gone, did I speak again. “Do I need to do some damage control?” I rasped past my dry throat as I looked at Ned then back at Linc. “Will he talk? Do I need to find you a good lawyer—”
“I have one,” he stated as he glanced at me, his brow furrowing. For the first time since I’d arrived, I felt he was seeing me clearly.
“Linc, I can’t defend you now.” His face darkened, and he looked about ready to start arguing with me. “How the fuck can I defend you when we’re in a relationship and I love you?” I ground out in frustration.
He stilled, and it dawned too late what I’d said.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
<
br /> Sid coughed, and the other two men’s feet shuffled against the floor as everyone looked anywhere but at me and Linc. The strain in the room seemed to increase after I’d opened my big mouth, even though there so few of us. Why did I have to announce it like that? I ran my hands through my hair when Linc looked at me with an unreadable expression before he glanced at the other men.
“We need a cleaning crew to clean the place up,” Linc said.
“All arranged. The crew I use will keep their mouths shut and I’ve made a list of things that need to be replaced,” the bigger of the two men answered.
Linc gave a curt nod. “I’ll cover the costs. The keys don’t need to be returned until tomorrow evening. Will your guys have it taken care of by then?”
The casual way they carried on the conversation left my emotions in turmoil. Linc continued to act like I wasn’t standing more than a couple of feet from him, or that there wasn’t a man lying unconscious on the floor, potentially dying.
I glanced at Sid and wondered if his intention was to bring me here to show me what Linc was really like. The loving father and hardworking businessman was now a cold, heartless bastard. Which was the real Linc?
All of them, and deep down you knew this.
The reality was harder to acknowledge with Linc’s behavior toward me adding to my inner conflict.
What the fuck was I going to do?
Chapter Thirty-One
Lincoln
With no memory of the ride back to the clubhouse, I sat on my motorcycle waiting for Sid to appear. This morning’s events continued to replay in my mind while I drew in several cleansing breaths, hoping to rid myself of the stench of betrayal. If I’d counted right, there had been fourteen rat bastards...nearly a third of the club’s members. I shook my head and acknowledged Sid as his motorcycle pulled up next to me.
We’d agreed, with the remaining members, to close the club down until the dust settled. There was bound to be some fall out, and I wasn’t sure if some wouldn’t be stupid enough to keep from blabbing. Anything was possible, and the fact this had been brewing for years left too many uncertainties.
“Why’d you tell Mason to go home? We need to be ready for whatever comes next.” Sid removed his helmet and sat foward on the tank as he removed his glasses and eyed me.
There were many reasons I’d told Mason to go home, but right then I didn’t want to talk about them, so I didn’t reply.
He let it be, and instead, asked, “Did I hear right? Is this all ‘bout River?”
I took my own helmet off, giving myself a few seconds to rein back the temper that wanted to resurface. “It would seem so.” I ground out through a clenched jaw. “My leadership is lacking ‘cause of her. In Ned’s opinion, she’d have been better off dead.” I couldn’t sit any longer, and I slung my leg off my motorcycle.
Sid released a low growl and his face was a mask of fury.
I paced in front of him, needing to know one thing. “Do you think I’ve let things slide?”
“Fuck no. You changed the direction of the club to protect River, and yeah, we don’t fuckin’ fight like we did, but our rep remains solid. I’ll ask you a question. How many times in the last five years has a rival club come to show us who’s boss?”
I stopped pacing to look him dead in the eye, and what I saw was no deception. It helped release a little of the strain knotting my shoulder muscles. “None.”
“Exactly, and if Ned and the others had gotten their heads out of the past, they might have realized you’ve improved things. And yeah, as I said before, I worried it would change things. It did, but it’s nice to be able to fuckin’ sleep at night and not be waiting for someone to bust the door in.”
The following chuckle was humorless, but I got the point he was making.
Sid leaned forward. “Let the dust settle and give it a few days to see what slides out of the woodwork.” Color flooded his face and his gaze dropped to the tank as he carried on. “If I were you, I’d go and search out your man. He came today, no questions asked, and showed everyone what balls he had ‘cause all he was worried ‘bout was you.” His voice thickened. “He’s a rare find and you’d be a fool to let him go ‘cause you feel you’re not worthy of him—”
“What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re my brother in every sense, so I’m not gonna spell out your past. Just know that man loves you and today might have given him a big dose of reality, but remember this, he chose to stay.” With that, Sid put his glasses back on, then his helmet. He nodded before starting his engine and taking off.
I returned to my motorcycle, and once back on it, I headed home, my head full of what Sid had said.
***
Distracted by the continued thoughts running through my head, I didn’t initially hear River come into my work room. It had been three days since I’d told Mason to go home. I’d heard nothing from him, but I’d not reached out either.
“Poppy, I’s had enough of dis nonsense. Ya been a grump for days and days. Ya needs to tell me what’s wrong.” Her tiny foot tapped on the floor as her hands went to her waist. Her face was so like Lizzie’s when she got her mind made up, that a wave of emotion choked me and left me unable to respond.
The last client had left ten minutes earlier, so I used that as an excuse to keep myself occupied, clearing up for the day.
“Poppy, I’s not playin’.”
I glanced at her scowling face and crouched down. “I’ve a lot goin’ on in my head—”
“Is this ‘cause you and Mason had a fight?”
It was my time to scowl. “Who said we had a fight?”
Her finger wagged at me. “Don’t take that tone with me. No one said anythin’ but ya been going around snappin’ and jumpin’ down everyone’s throat. And Mason says he’s too busy to come and see me. Dat says ya had a fight.”
I couldn’t argue with her logic, but could you call radio silence an argument? Her eyes implored me to explain. I gave a heartfelt sigh and rubbed a hand down her ponytail. “We haven’t had a fight, but things are a little tense right now.” It was the best I could come up with, when I couldn’t explain about what had happened on the weekend.
Things had returned to normal as if nothing had happened. It left a knot of tension at the base of my skull, reminding me daily that, at any minute, the sheriff could burst through the door.
The word was that Ned had regained consciousness the day before and had no memory of what had happened to him. He’d had a stroke that left his right side useless. Whether it was caused by the beating I’d given him, or his shitty lifestyle, who knew? But after what he’d done, he was lucky to still be breathing.
Doddie had a broken jaw that was wired shut so he couldn’t talk. It seemed that Stevie had discharged himself from the hospital and hadn’t been seen since. Riley and Beau were on an orthopedic ward with broken limbs, saying they’d fallen off their motorcycles. It looked like they’d gotten the message, but only time would tell. The other nine traitors had their patches stripped from them, and Sid had sent word out to other clubs we were on speaking terms with. He explained their treachery, just in case they went seeking entry to another club.
“—somethin’ ‘bout it, Poppy.”
I tuned back in and caught the tail end of what River was saying and my heart leapt against my ribs at the smug look on her face. “What have you done, Spirit?” I got a sinking feeling when her gaze moved to the open door behind me and her face lit with a beaming smile.
“Hi, Mason,” she sing-songed, giving me her answer.
Schooling my features, I stood and took a deep breath, hoping it would help my frantically beating heart as I turned to face Mason.
He was casually dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. His dark hair was swept back off his forehead. There were dark circles under his eyes that went with the deep grooves around his mouth. He looked so unhappy, I struggled not to go to him and wrap my arms around him. It was the wariness of his expression that
held me back.
Had he come to tell me it was over? It was the kind of man he was. He’d have the courage to do it face to face. It was one of the many things I’d come to love about him. In the last three days, I’d thought about little else, especially with Sid’s words ringing in my ears.
Yet the fear of rejection, of being too dark to his light left me doing fuck all. So I braced and gave a curt nod, hoping he’d get it over quick so that I could…what? Go on like he hadn’t ripped out my heart?
“Hey, River. Could you give me and Poppy a minute alone?”
She skipped over to him and lifted her arms up. He bent immediately and lifted her up, allowing her to wrap her small arms around his neck.
“Ok, ya won’t be long will ya? Ya promised me a picnic in the park, remember?” She kissed his cheek and whispered something in his ear I couldn’t hear.
Did the offer of a picnic include me? A wild fluttering started in my stomach, until Mason’s lips moved into a smile at whatever River was saying, that didn’t reach his eyes. “We’ll see, and yes, the basket is downstairs packed with goodies.” He didn’t meet my gaze as he lowered River. “Go on and get what you think you might need, and I’ll be along in a minute.”
She ran to the door not looking back. My hands balled at my sides when the door closed behind her. I hesitated. Fuck it! I closed the distance between Mason and me, his stiff posture not giving me any confidence that I was doing the right thing.
As if he’d made his mind up on something, his gaze met mine and his shoulders rolled back. “Tell me what happened.”
I didn’t pretend to not understand what the quietly asked question meant, and a part of me had known all along he’d ask. It was the way Mason was wired. He needed to understand everything, pick it apart so he could put it back together. I just wasn’t sure if he’d want to do that this time, once he knew everything.